Agenda and minutes

To receive apologies for absence and details of any Councillor (or co-optee substitute) nominated to attend this meeting in place of a member of this Committee.

Apologies for absence were received on behalf of Councillors Cookson, Passingham and Thomas.

To invite Councillors to declare any interest they may have in items on the Agenda and any Party Whip.

There were no declarations of interest or of any party whip.

To confirm the minutes of the most recent meeting of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee held on the 17thOctober as a correct record.

(Minutes attached)

RESOLVED that

the minutes of the meeting of the Committee held on the 17th of October 2007 be confirmed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

To consider whether any Key Decisions of the Executive Committee’s most recent meeting(s) should be subject to call-in and also to consider whether any items on the Forward Plan require pre-scrutiny.

(No separate report).

Members received the Decision Notice from the meeting of the Executive Committee held on Wednesday, the 19th of September 2007, with a view to considering the need for any Call-ins.

RESOLVED that

no action be taken to initiate call-in procedures on any of the Key Decisions contained in the Executive Committee Decision Notice.

To consider any scoping documents provided for possible Overview and Scrutiny review.

(No reports attached)

There were no draft scoping reports for consideration.

To consider progress to date on current scrutiny reviews against the terms set by the Overview & Scrutiny Committee.

The current reviews in progress are:

1. Communications Task and Finish Group (Stage One),  Chair - Councillor J. Brunner.

2. District Centres Task and Finish Group, Chair - Councillor A. Fry.

3. Fees and Charges Task and Finish Group, Chair - Councillor C. MacMillan.

4. Housing Priority Task and Finish Group, Chair - Councillor B. Passingham

5. Gypsy and Travellers Task and Finish Group, Chair - Councillor P. Hill

6. Joint scrutiny on flooding – Representative – Councillor A. Fry

(Oral reports and / or reports attached)

The Committee considered update reports in relation to current and pending reviews.

The following oral reports were given:

a)    Communications Task and Finish Group (Stage One)
– Chair Councillor J. Brunner.

Members were informed that the Group was scheduled to visit Stevenage Borough Council the following day to discuss best practice for corporate communications in a similar local authority.

The Chair explained that the Group was due to interview their final expert witness the following week and that the majority of information gathered during the interviewing process had been collated.
 

   b)   District Centres Task and Finish Group
– Chair Councillor A. Fry

The Chair of the District Centres Task and Finish Group explained that the Group was due to meet on Thursday the 22nd November to receive updates from Officers.  The Chair of the Committee requested that the Chair of the Group consider a potential end date for this exercise. 

c)   Fees and Charges Task and Finish Group
– Chair Councillor C. MacMillan

The Chair of the Fees and Charges Task and Finish Group reported that the Group had reviewed two service areas: Planning and Land Charges.  The Group had found that there was very little scope for adjustment.  The Chair explained that the Head of Financial, Revenues and Benefit Services had been invited to the next meeting to discuss how the Council allocated overheads.

The Chair also informed the Group that the issue of local authority powers to trade had arisen at the previous meeting.  Further information about this had been requested by Officers for consideration at a future meeting of the Group. 

d)   Housing Priority Task and Finish Group
– Chair Councillor B. Passingham

Members were informed of the continuing postponement of this Task and Finish Group due to Member illness.  The Committee discussed the possibility of electing a Vice-Chair to help progress the work of this Group.  Officers reminded Members of the recent visioning event that had taken place which could impact on the work of this Task and Finish Group.  Members were advised that depending on the outcome, the visioning exercise could initiate changes to the content of the Directorate Service Plans that was due to be analysed by this Task and Finish Group. 

e)   Gypsies and Travellers Task and Finish Group
– Chair Councillor P. Hill

Officers explained that due to personal circumstances, the Chair of this Task and Finish Group had asked to postpone the first meeting of this group until further notice. 

f)        Joint Scrutiny on Flooding

Officers reported to Members that the first meeting for this Review was due to take place on Monday the 26th of November at 6pm at County Hall. 

RESOLVED that

                     the Committee note the reports and agree the proposed action; all as detailed in the preamble above.

To consider the format of Task and Finish Group final presentations and reports, and interim reporting arrangements. 

 (No reports attached)

The Chair explained that he had initiated this item out of concern that Task and Finish Groups had yet to produce any output for the consideration of the Executive Committee, other Members and Officers. 

The Chair suggested that Task and Finish Groups could begin to produce recommendations in a simple one page format on a phased basis, rather than on completion of the Task and Finish Group’s work.  Members discussed this proposal and agreed that it was not important that a glossy report be produced on completion of Task and Finish work.  However, Members recognised that whilst reporting recommendations as they became available might be appropriate for some Group exercises the submission of a final report would remain suitable for other Task and Finish Groups. 

RESOLVED that

the proposed course of action be supported.

To receive a presentation from the Portfolio Holder for Corporate Management providing a brief overview of the Portfolio followed by a wider question and answer session using the prepared question template.

(Oral report)

The Portfolio Holder for Corporate Management, Councillor Braley, attended the meeting to provide the second Annual Report to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee.

The Chair explained that as this was only the second time a Portfolio Holder had attended the Overview and Scrutiny Committee to provide their annual report, the most effective method of producing these reports was yet to be established.  The Chair apologised for the changes in format to the process. 

a) Roles and Responsibilities

Councillor Braley began his presentation by explaining to Members his role and responsibilities as a Portfolio Holder.  He explained that his Portfolio area did not relate to political policy but rather to supporting a well managed organisation. Members were informed that integral to working towards a well managed organisation was the theme of good governance.

The Portfolio Holder informed Members that he had relatively few decision making powers.  He explained that the decisions he was able to influence included; when to fly the flag on the Town Hall; when to grant concessionary use of the Civic Suite; and (in consultation with the Mayor and Group Leaders) when to suspend Standing Orders on contracts.  

Councillor Braley explained to Members that his role was to ensure that decisions were made and implemented following the correct Council procedures.  Members were informed that Councillor Braley was not opposed to many of the decisions made by the Council but that in the past he had been concerned about how decisions had been reached.

Councillor Braley stated that he agreed with the list of roles and responsibilities set out in the Portfolio Holder’s Terms of Reference.  However, he informed Members that he encountered difficulties due to his binary role as a Member of the Opposition and spokesperson for the Council, particularly when the Council’s decisions were subject to criticism. 

Councillor Braley further explained that his priority as a Portfolio Holder was to work towards a better managed organisation.   He informed Members that some of the key actions that had been achieved included: budget savings as a result of improved procurement processes; improved Member Development; use of performance management systems and improved monitoring of Best Value Performance Indicators (BVPIs).

Members referred to the Portfolio Holder’s Terms of Reference and queried the difference between “may” and “can” in relation to the duties of a Portfolio Holder.  The Chair requested that Officers provide a brief explanation of what these categories meant for future Portfolio Holder presentations. 

b) Key Issues for the Portfolio Holder

Members questioned why issues relating to IT at the Council were rarely discussed and were seemingly not at the top of the Council’s agenda.  In response to this, Officers explained that IT was given due consideration internally and at senior management level.  One of the elements identified recently by the Corporate Management Team was that the Council needed to identify leaders in this area and to learn from good practice.  Officers stated that the Council was committed to bringing in expertise in this area to help address  ...  view the full minutes text for item 75.

To consider the Council’s budget report data for the second quarter of the year.

(Report to follow)

The Committee received the quarterly budget report for July to         September 2007 for consideration.

The Chair noted that the report mentioned “savings due to vacant post” on a number of occasions.  Officers explained that some posts had been frozen during restructuring and so had been vacant for longer than usual.  Members requested further information regarding vacant posts including; details of the number of days lost; the financial savings made; and the capacity implications for the Council.

RESOLVED that 

1)    Officers be requested to provide further information at a future meeting about vacant posts as detailed in the preamble above; and

2)         the report be noted and approved.

There were no referrals.

The programme of future work was received and accepted. 

Officers informed Members that the current co-opted membership had changed and that two new Borough Tenants’ Panel representatives and two new reserve representatives would be registered at the Committee’s next meeting.

RESOLVED that

1)         the Committee Work Programme be noted; and

2)   the Chair write on behalf of the Committee thanking the Borough Tenants’ Panel Representative for all her work on the Committee.